Clean Operation and Manufacturing

By Victor K.F. Chia, Ph.D.

Clean Operation and Manufacturing is an important aspect to successful manufacturing that is often overlooked. It is applicable to any type of assembly process performed in a controlled environment. Clean
Operation and Manufacturing is even more critical for semiconductor IC manufacturing as device features become smaller and device performances become more demanding. Sub-par Clean Operation and
Manufacturing is often the reason why duplicate process lines established in another plant, local or
international, does not meet the original plants yield.
The goal of manufacturing whether it is semiconductor related or not, is to achieve contamination-free
manufacturing (CFM). This is accomplished by carrying out all operations in controlled environments and
with processes that do not cause degradation of the product performance or manufacturability. In essence,
the manufacturing environments and processes must be invisible to manufacturing. The level of defects
generated by the manufacturing processes and the rate at which these defects are reduced does affect
production yield and quality of the product. In a manufacturing consideration, defects are not just the
result of contamination but may be viewed as ineffective control of physical and environmental parameters,
process-to-process interactions, and design-to-process interactions. Clean manufacturing practices are
therefore not limited to your process. It applies also to your supplier chain processes as their products can
carry over contamination into your environment and product.
The Big Picture
To achieve contamination-free manufacturing (CFM), the manufacturing process is in most cases
performed in a cleanroom. The notion the cleanroom is clean is only correct with respect to particles (see
Table 1), and this is based on the class of the cleanroom as-built and at-rest.
Table 1: Standard ISO 14644-1 classification of cleanrooms for particles
ISO Classification
ISO Class 1
ISO Class 2
ISO Class 3
ISO Class 4
ISO Class 5
ISO Class 6
ISO Class 7
ISO Class 8
ISO Class 9

Maximum concentration limits (particles/m3 of air) for particles equal

Guideline for FFU
to and larger than the considered sizes shown below
coverage
0.1 um
0.2 um
0.3um
0.5 um
1.0 um
5.0 um
10
2
100%
100
24
10
4
100%
1 000
237
102
35
8
100%
10 000
2 370
1 020
352
83
100%
100 000
23 700
10 200
3 520
832
29
75-100%
1 000 000
237 000 102 000
35 200
8 320
293
30-50%
352 000
83 200
2 930
15-20%
3 520 000 832 000
29 300
5-10%
35 200 000 8 320 000 293 000

Airborne Molecular Contamination (AMC) in the cleanroom or controlled environment must also be
controlled. AMC is often overlooked as it is invisible and monitoring it is more involved than simply using a
particle counter. AMC is mobile in the air, constantly present from cleanroom materials, for example, and can
adhere to surfaces to form surface molecular contamination (SMC) that can affect product performance and
yield. AMC cleanroom cleanliness classification is shown in Table 2.
Table 2: Airborne molecular contamination (AMC) classification of cleanrooms per SEMI F21

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Clean Operation and Manufacturing

Once the equipment and people are moved into the cleanroom and manufacturing begins, it is essential to
maintain the discipline of Clean Operation and Manufacturing to ensure the particle and AMC cleanliness
remain within the cleanroom class classification. Although the clean manufacturing process is performed in
a cleanroom, stringent contamination-free manufacturing (CFM) protocols must be followed and monitored at
all times. In most high technology companies, CFM engineers are responsible for this and audit the process
regularly using metrics and scorecards. In addition to clean manufacturing (CM), it is important to control the
contamination carry-over into the cleanroom that may ultimately affect the CM process. The cleanliness of
cleanroom consumables, gloves, wipes, parts and components, vacuum pumps, computers, fans, electrical
units and other support materials must be compatible with the manufacturing process and cleanroom
environment. This concept is illustrated in Figure 1. These materials therefore should have cleanliness
specifications and their suppliers should be audited on a regular basis as they typically do not operate in
cleanroom environments compatible with the Clean Manufacturing plant.

CLEANROOM OPERATION

CLEANROOM DESIGN

CM

Process tools may

be in ISO 3
(Class 10) individual
environments

But support
tools and
suppliers
cleanroom
environments
are not

Carry Over

CLEANROOM VERIFICATION

Figure 1: A schematic diagram showing clean manufacturing (CM) operating within the
cleanroom structure. Carry over contamination may be brought into the cleanroom that can
affect the productivity of the product.

How Clean Is Clean Enough?

Contamination-free manufacturing (CFM) is accomplished by carrying out the process in controlled
environments and with protocols that do not cause degradation of the product. All cleanroom programs
should be conducted properly at all times. The Institute of Environmental Sciences and Technology (IEST) is
an international society for the environmental sciences and offers recommended practices for controlling
contamination. Figure 2 shows the relevant IEST recommended practices (RPs) required for Clean Operation
and Manufacturing.

Facility (design, layout, construction

material, and air/gas/water/chemical)
Cleanroom Validation
Balazs SOP
- AMC and SMC
- Air bubblers
- Witness wafers

IEST-RP-CC031
IEST-RP-CC035

1
6

6-Points

Cleanroom
House Keeping
IEST-RP-CC018

Cleanroom
Procedures

IEST-RP-CC027

StarALert
5

IEST-RP-CC012
IEST-RP-CC006
IEST-RP-CC028

Personnel
Behavior

3
4

IEST-RP-CC027

Cleanroom
Supplies

IEST-RP-CC003
IEST-RP-CC005

Figure 2: Recommended practices and SOP for clean operation and manufacturing

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Clean Operation and Manufacturing

Disruption of any one of these programs can jeopardize the Clean Operation and Manufacturing. However,
if all these programs are in progress, then an excursion in one of these programs will likely not disrupt
the overall Clean Operation and Manufacturing cleanliness balance. Zero contamination in the cleanroom
or on the critical surface is not practical. But zero contamination excursions should always be the goal
because products will be cleaner when the number of contamination excursions decrease. The concentration or size of defects in the excursion plays a role in whether the product is rejected. The product will be
rejected if the defect concentration is high and above the threshold for product performance. This is why it is
important to have contamination specifications for each component as the total assembly must have a surface
contamination level below the product performance threshold. The part may be verified clean to meet
the cleanliness specification using non-destructive surface testing. It is the unanticipated contamination
excursions that are contamination killers to assembly. So any alert (proactive) systems that bring awareness
to increasing contamination density are important. In essence, the environments and processes must be
invisible to the assembly process.
Contamination Reduction Cycle
The contamination density (or concentration) during an excursion is proportional to the probability the
product will show deviation in optimum performance. Figure 3 illustrates the thought process behind
reducing contamination for Clean Operation and Manufacturing. Contamination will always be present, to
some degree, in a manufacturing process. The contaminants may be particles, metals, organics or ionic
(e.g. F-, Cl-, SO42-, NH4+) and these are represented in Figure 3 by the alphabet in capital letters as present at high
concentration.

Low Yield =

Days

(A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, M, N..)

Facility/CR

Eliminate/reduce/control
Escalation
Evaluate performance
and cleanliness

Determine/verify
root cause

Identify
contamination

Partitioning
testing

Reselect material or
qualify new vendor

Target contaminants
(particles/metal/organic/inorganic)
A > B > C > D > E > etc..

Identify sources

Days

(a, b, c, d, f, g, h, i, j, k, l, m, n..)

Processes

Contamination Reduction Cycle

Escalation Cycle

High Yield =

In-Tool

Where
a<A
b<B
c..etc.

Figure 3: Clean operation and manufacturing contamination reduction cycle

These contaminants will accumulate in the environment and on surfaces such as gloves, gowns and work
benches and be carried over onto critical surfaces during assembly. Over a period of time, as illustrated
by the integration sign, the build-up of contaminants reaches a threshold and begins to affect the product
performance resulting in a low yield. Determining the culprit contaminant is only the first step. One
must apply and complete the Escalation Cycle shown in Figure 3. Knowing the contaminant is Na, for
example, is not sufficient to eliminate it from the process. One must determine the source of Na as it may be
from the glove, from the solution in the wet bath, from the ceiling tiles, from the process gas and so forth.

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Clean Operation and Manufacturing

Without partitioning testing, one is operating blindly instead of methodically to identify the actual source
of Na. Once the source is identified, the Contamination Reduction Cycle shown in Figure 3 may be applied.
The material or vendor is now re-qualified for their compatibility to the Clean Operation and Manufacturing.
Re-selection of the material may be required and the new material is then integrated into the product and its
performance evaluated. The contaminants are now reduced and present at lower concentration as illustrated
by the lower case alphabets. The integration time will now be extended before the contamination threshold
affects the product performance, thereby resulting in a higher yield.
Establishing Clean Operation and Manufacturing
Establishing a minimum of the six metrics and their respective scorecards shown below is recommended for
a viable Clean Operation and Manufacturing program.
Metric 1: Facility

- Cleanroom design, layout, build of materials, repairs and upgrades
Metric 2: Cleanroom Protocol

- Consumable selection, qualification and cleaning

- Effective and consistent housekeeping

- Operator behavior and compliance
Metric 3: Cleanroom Monitoring

- Cleanliness monitoring in cleanroom at rest and operational

- Gas (N2 and CDA), chemical and water impurity monitoring
Metric 4: Process Metrics

- QC metrics at key and critical steps of manufacturing

- Perform clean manufacturing audits and implement closed loop TQC
Metric 5: Suppliers Compliance

- Supplier compliance to clean manufacturing, products and packaging
Metric 6: Training

- Job related training provided and applied by operators
How Can Balazs Help?
Balazs NanoAnalysis provides onsite Gap Analysis, consultation for establishing metrics for Clean
Operation and Manufacturing, and training. During the Gap Analysis, we will observe and collect
contamination data that will form the basis of a hypothesis and mechanism for contamination introduction
and transfer. We will then make recommendations for improvement and develop customized training for your
engineers. Please email Dr. Victor Chia at victor.chia@balazs.com if you would like a consultation.

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